A prime suspect in a string of fraudulent activities impacting local and international gold traders, appeared in Milimani Law Courts today following his arrest on Tuesday evening.
The 28-year-old faces allegations of defrauding a businessman of Ksh35 million in a counterfeit gold scheme.
According to prosecutors, the fraudulent transactions occurred intermittently between July 13 and October 18, 2023.
The suspect is accused of deceiving the victim into a sham deal involving the purchase and exportation of 100kg of gold to Dubai, purportedly for transportation and insurance fees.
After transferring the funds, amounting to approximately US $250,000 (approximately Ksh32.5 million), the victim received nine gold bars as collateral. However, subsequent testing by the Ministry of Mining revealed that none of the bars contained any gold whatsoever.
The suspect absconded following the transaction, leaving the victim in financial ruin and prompting law enforcement intervention.
Acting on intelligence, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) launched a covert operation at Crystal Spring Apartments in Lavington, Nairobi. They successfully apprehended the suspect while he was in possession of his Toyota Prado.
Several key pieces of evidence, including radio sets and cheque books, were confiscated from the vehicle.
The suspect was brought before the Kibera Law Courts on Wednesday, April 10, where he faced charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and obtaining money by false pretence.
He entered a plea of not guilty to both charges and has been remanded until Friday, April 14, 2024, pending bond determination.
Prosecutors opposed the suspect's release on bond, citing his prior criminal record. They cited his alleged involvement in a case of robbery with violence.
In that incident, the suspect and two accomplices were accused of robbing a foreign couple of over USD 90,000 (approximately Ksh12 million) during a gold-related business transaction.
The robbery, which occurred on October 28, 2023, saw the suspect, alongside two others lure an Australian man and his Ugandan wife to an office in the Runda suburbs before violently attacking them.
The assailants robbed the couple and abandoned them in Nairobi's CBD after subjecting the wife to sexual assault.
Following an intensive manhunt, the trio were apprehended at the Social House Nairobi Hotel in Lavington. They were subsequently charged with robbery with violence at Kibera Law Courts on November 9, 2023.
The accused were released on a Ksh1 million bond with an alternative of Ksh300,000 cash bail pending trial.
